Top News:
Tony Maglio / The Hollywood Reporter:
Bob Iger says upcoming changes to Disney+ include “game-like features” and “mostly short-form” user-generated content made with generative AI — Disney CEO Bob Iger hinted at “productive conversations” with unnamed AI companies that would protect IP but add new features …
Discussion:
Engadget, IndieWire, /Film, Los Angeles Times, Variety, @kennysmith.bsky.social, Gizmodo, IGN, @adamreck.bsky.social, The Verge, @markriedl.bsky.social, @andydehnart.com, @badfutures.com, CinemaBlend, @hockeybroad.bsky.social, Chris Heatherly on LinkedIn, Futurism, Kotaku, @fizzvstheworld.bsky.social, Cord Cutters News and Deadline
RELATED:
Alex Weprin / The Hollywood Reporter:
Disney says it plans to “invest approximately $24B in content across Entertainment and Sports in fiscal 2026, an increase of $1B compared to the prior year” — The company says it expects to spend $24 billion in content in fiscal 2026, an increase from $23 billion in 2025.
Dade Hayes / Deadline:
Bob Iger says 80% of new sign-ups to ESPN's streaming service, which was launched in August, opt for the bundle that includes Disney+ and Hulu
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, AdExchanger, StreamTV Insider, Awful Announcing, CNET, Business Insider and Barrett Media
Paul Tenorio / The Athletic:
Sources: Apple and Major League Soccer agree to make all MLS games available on Apple TV for no extra charge from 2026, ending the MLS Season Pass subscription — PALM BEACH, Fla. — MLS will no longer be behind a separate paywall on Apple TV beginning in 2026.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Variety, TheDesk.net, Awful Announcing, TVNewsCheck, Sportico, CNET, Associated Press, Engadget, CNBC, Field Level Media, Front Office Sports, Cord Cutters News, AppleInsider, MacRumors, Barrett Media, ESPN, 9to5Mac, Sports Business Journal, Silicon Valley Business …, @mark_d_bertram, Sports Media Watch, @paultenorio.bsky.social and MacDailyNews, more at Techmeme »
Kevin Collier / NBC News:
A group of former FCC members petition the FCC to repeal its News Distortion policy, invoked by Brendan Carr in the 60 Minutes case, arguing it violates the 1A — The policy was directly referenced by FCC Chair Brendan Carr in disputes over Jimmy Kimmel and “60 Minutes.”
Samuel Stolton / Bloomberg:
The EU opens a DMA investigation into Google over allegedly demoting news outlets with promotional content; Google says this is part of its anti-spam efforts — Google is under investigation by European Union antitrust watchdogs over concerns it unfairly demotes some news results in a probe …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Keyword, European Commission, PYMNTS.com, Android Headlines, Channel News, Breitbart, Associated Press, UPI, Ukrainian National News, Silicon Republic, @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social, @SuffolkLITLab@esq.social, Reuters, Courthouse News Service, Oliver Bethell on LinkedIn, @amilcartavares.bsky.social, TechCrunch, Agence France-Presse, Wall Street Journal, Search Engine Journal, lawsociety.ie, Dow Jones Newswires, Daily Sabah, BelfastTelegraph.co.uk and Search Engine Land, more at Techmeme »
Noor Nanji / BBC:
The BBC apologizes to President Trump for a Panorama episode that spliced parts of his January 6 speech together but rejects his demands for compensation — The BBC has apologised to US President Donald Trump for a Panorama episode which spliced parts of a speech together, but rejected his demands for compensation.
Aisha Malik / TechCrunch:
TikTok launches Bulletin board, which lets brands and creators share public, one-to-many messages to their followers, similar to Instagram's broadcast channels — TikTok announced on Thursday that it's launching “bulletin board,” a new feature that lets brands and creators share public, one-to-many messages to their followers.
Discussion:
MediaPost, WeRSM, Engadget, TikTok and @TechCrunch@mstdn.social
Owen Huchon / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at outlets in Belgium and France that are prioritizing independence from Big Tech and opting for open source or in-house software — From Google to Microsoft, European newsrooms often rely on tools built in Silicon Valley. Some are trying to break free, turning to open-source alternatives or home-grown solutions.
Reuters:
After an antitrust probe, South Africa announces a ~$40M media support package from Google, which will fund national, community, and non-English language media — South Africa's competition regulator announced on Thursday a series of concessions from global tech platforms, including a 688 million rand …
Discussion:
Journalism.co.uk, Agence France-Presse and Bloomberg Law
James Pomfret / Reuters:
Beijing's High Court rejects an appeal by veteran Chinese state media journalist Dong Yuyu to overturn a seven-year jail term for “espionage”, per his family — - Court rejects journalist's appeal against seven-year jail term — Family calls sentence unjust; vows to fight on
Discussion:
Committee to Protect …
Dominic-Madori Davis / TechCrunch:
Newsletter platform Beehiiv announces new features, including for AI website creation, podcast hosting, digital product sales, and real-time analytics — Newsletter platform beehiiv announced a massive expansion to its platform on Thursday, including offering real-time analytics and AI website creation, among other things.
Discussion:
Variety, Adweek, The Hollywood Reporter and Inc.com
Nicole Sperling / New York Times:
Netflix shifts its video game strategy to focus on popular titles like Pictionary, Boggle, and Tetris, playable in its app on TVs using phones as controllers — Netflix has an answer with how to deal with weird Aunt Marsha on Thanksgiving night: Boggle! — Four years after the streaming giant …
Discussion:
Alex Gutarin on LinkedIn, The Sun and What's on Netflix, more at Techmeme »
